Land development plan, Elizabeth City, N.C

LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN
ELIZABETH CITY, N. C.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2014
ELIZABETH CITY. N.
L
https://archive.org/details/landdevelopment1968nort_0
id Urban De-
FOREWORD
Elizabeth City contracted with the Division of Community
Planning of the N.C. Department of Conservation and Development
in October of 1965 for technical assistance in the revision of
its Land Use Survey and Analysis, its Development Plan, and its
Community Facilities Plan. This publication, Rev is ion of the
Land Development Plan. Elizabeth City. N. C. . updates the Devel-opment
Plan prepared in 1961, This report contains new data,
analyses, and recommendations. In addition, a new base map has
been prepared and incorporated in the report.
Previous reports published for Elizabeth City under contract
by the Division of Community Planning are as follows:
Parking Study, December 1960
Subdivision Regulations, March 1961
Development Plan for Elizabeth City, June 1961
Zoning Ordinance, September 1961
Public Improvements Program, May 1962
Community Facilities Plan, August 1962
Neighborhood Analysis, June 1963
Downtown Elizabeth City - Population and Economy
Background, February 1965
Downtown Elizabeth City - A Preliminary Design Plan,
November 1965
PREPARED FOR THE
TOWN OF ELIZABETH CITY, NORTH CAROLINA
J. Holland Webster, Mayor
Robert W Luther, City Manager
Town Council Planning Board
Cader P . Harr is , Jr. Melvin R. Daniels,
G. P. Dixon Edse 1 Wha ley
John Wood Foreman Jo W Johnson, Jr.
B. C. Jennette S o E lmo Will iams
A. P. Midgett Ac Bo Ethridge
Tyra L . Newe 11, Jr
.
C. E. Richardson
W. H. Tuns ta 1
1
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY
DIVISION OF COMMUNITY PLANNING
DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
George J. Monaghan, Administrator
COASTAL AREA OFFICE
James R c Hinkley, Director
PROJECT STAFF
William E Howell, Community Planner
James G, Blake, Community Planner
Douglas L a Wiggins, Planning Technician
Mitchel R Woolard, Draftsman
Marian J. Alligood, Secretary
March 1968 Price $2o00
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION . . . , 1
LAND USE SURVEY AND ANALYSIS 3
Commercial Development « . . 6
Industrial Development 8
Residential Development . 9
Public and Semi-Public Development 11
Utilities , 14
Vacant, Agricultural and Wooded 14
Conclusions 16
POPULATION PROJECTIONS AND LAND USE COMPARISONS .... 19
Population Projections 19
Land Use Comparisons 20
LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN , 23
Commercial Land Development ..... 26
Industrial Land Development 26
Public and Semi-Public 28
Residential Land Use 29
Utilities Development 30
Street Development
.
30
Vacant, Agricultural and Wooded 30
RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION . , 3 1
LIST OF MAPS
Page
1959 Land Use Survey . 4
1967 Land Use Survey t 5
1959 Land Development Plan . . 24
1987 Land Development Plan f 25
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
The original land use survey for Elizabeth City was prepared
for the city by the Division of Community Planning in 1959 Q In
1961 this data was incorporated and published in the Deve lopment
Plan for Elizabeth City , Since that time numerous changes have
taken place within the city and the fringe area, In order to
determine the magnitude of these changes and to assess their
effect upon the original development plan, a new land use survey
and analysis has been prepared, Because the fringe area (all
land located within one mile of the city limits on all sides of
the city) was not adequately shown on the original base map, a
new map has been prepared and used for the survey as well as
this report.
Based on the new survey, this report compares the existing
land use pattern (1967) with the 1959 pattern and analyzes the
more significant changes and their implications for future
growth and development. The survey provides separate breakdown
of the land use totals both inside and outside the city limits
However, changes occurring within the city limits will be con-sidered
together with those occurring on the outside because
they are interrelated and often stem from common causes.
The revised land development plan presented in this report
is largely based on the land use survey, plus the anticipated
future population, and the existing and proposed pattern of pub-lic
utilities and facilities, such as the water system, the
sewage system, and the transportation system.
As stated in the 1961 Development Plan for Elizabeth City ,
N a C
.
, the Development Plan "is concerned primarily with defining
the form and extent of the future city D It is designed to insure
that future growth and development will be orderly and pleasant,
by suggesting how the existing and proposed playgrounds, residences
streets, industry and other land uses should be related to each
other. It, therefore, provides a general framework within which
more detailed development can be. made.
When future development or improvements are contemplated
within the community, the Development Plan is intended to act as
a guide, both to private citizens and to the public official. To
the private citizen, it indicates the type of neighborhood he can
expect to live in, the best location for this business or industry,
and the location of major arterial streets. To the public official,
it is a framework for providing public facilities. To the Planning
Commission, it is an outline of long-term growth against which each
proposed new development may be judged and evaluated, before they
make recommendations to the City Council*"
The first part of this report contains the revised land use
survey and analysis. The second part uses population projections
to determine the approximate future land use needs of the city in
1987. The third part of the report will present the revised
development plan for 1987. It will consist of two parts - a
sketch thoroughfare plan and a land development plan. The fourth
and final part presents the recommendations and implementation
procedures
.
2
LAND USE SURVEY
AND ANALYSIS
"HU|*|P||||>|||IIMMMMM>^
LAND USE SURVEY AND ANALYSIS - 1967
The ii ew land use survey was made during the spring of 1967.
Although it excluded the Central Business District, the subject
of a 1965 Preliminary Design Plan, the survey included all other
land both within the city limits and extending outside for one
mile in all directions. Separate measures have been made of the
land devoted to various uses both inside and outside the corporate
limits. The results of this survey are compared with figures
from the 1959 survey in the table below. (See Maps 1 and 2).
TABLE 1 - LAND USE ACREAGES AND PERCENT CHANGES,
ELIZABETH CITY, 1959 - 1967
Inside City Limits Outside City L im i t s
1959 1967
%
Chang e 19 59 196 7
%
Ch ang e
C omm er c i a 1 85 9 1 + 7 . 1 32 69 + 115.6
Industrial 26 22 -15 . 4 12 95 + 691.7
Public and
S em i-Public 119 127 + 6 . 7 122 160 + 31.1
Res id ent i a 1 766 828 + 8. 1 180 220 + 22.2
Utilities 8 12 + 50 . 3 46 + 1 , 433 .
3
Street 625 627 + 0. 3 257 268 + 4.3
V ac an t ,
Agricultural,
Wood ed 964 926 - 3 . 9 2,190 2,011 8 . 2
Total 2,59 3 * 2,633 2,796 "* 2,869
""Change in total area reflects minor annexations since 1959 .
3
The area outside the city within the Elizabeth City Planning Area
is not completely shown on the 1959 Land Use Map. When prepared,
the 1959 base map did not include all of the one mile planning
area. Also, as Table 1 indicates, the total areas inside and
outside the city have changed slightly during the past eight years
because of annexations to include public housing areas lying
adjacent to the city limits. These annexations not only added to
the total land area inside the city but also caused a proportionate
increase in the one mile planning area.
Figures for the Central Business District land use from the
1965 survey have been incorporated with the 1967 survey to make
it comparable to the original 1959 figures which include the cen-tral
area. As the above figures indicate, the most important
changes in land use have been the growth of residential develop-ment
both inside and outside the city, and the rapid expansion
of commercial and industrial development outside. The following
sections provide an analysis of these and other significant land
use changes
.
Commercial Development
The major trend in the location of new commercial activities
in the Elizabeth City Planning Area has been the strip develop-ment
of Ehringhaus Street and Hughes Boulevard. The former pro-vides
the major western entry into the city off U.S. Highway 17
and leads directly to the Central Business District. The latter
is the western portion of the bypass route for U.S. 17. The
traffic congestion, deteriorating structures, and lack of ade-quate
parking that plague the Central Business District have pro-vided
a powerful stimulant for outlying commercial development.
The greatest concentration of this new development is occurring
outside the city limits on the west side of the city in and near
a triangular area delineated by Halstead Boulevard, Ehringhaus
Street, and Hughes Boulevard (U.So 17 Bypass). Recent construc-tion
within this area include a new motel, a restaurant, a service
6
station, a bowling alley, a rest home, and offices for Virginia
Electric and Power Company. Compared with other commercial areas
in town, the quality of these new businesses is very good. Ade-quate
off-street parking has been provided and no problems exist
except for somewhat increased traffic congestion,
In terms of its impact on the Central Business District, an
even more significant development, Southgate Mall Shopping Center
has been initiated on the southeastern side of this triangular
development. It will provide one or two department stores, a
variety of smaller stores, adequate parking areas, and ample room
for the planned future expansions There is no doubt that this
development will have a considerable impact on retail sales in
the Central Business District. Unless steps are taken quickly
to provide adequate parking and better circulation patterns for
automobiles, merchants can expect to lose much of their business.
Unfortunately, all the outlying commercial development is
not clustered into commercial areas or districts. Half of
Ehringhaus Street was originally zoned for commercial development
The rest was about equally divided between manufacturing, office
and institutional, and low density residential zones-, Through
amendments to the ordinance, all but one small res ident ia 1 ly
zoned area have been rezoned for commercial development.
Strip commercial development has occurred the length of
Ehringhaus Street. Most of the new development outside the
"triangle area" is of good quality and adequate off-street park-ing
has been provided in most instances. The poorest quality of
commercial development is located on what is called the "Endfield
Property." This piece of city owned land contains a number of
multi-family public housing units built during the Second World
War. The row of structures abutting Ehringhaus Street was sold
by the city and converted by the owners for offices and business.
Few external changes have been made to the wooden buildings and
parking is generally inadequate. Aside from this small cluster
development, commercial uses are scattered along the street from
the Central Business District to the triangle development.
Roughly the same pattern is developing along the U.S. 17
Bypass (Hughes Boulevard) that has occurred along Ehringhaus Street.
Almost all of the north side of the highway is zoned for manu-facturing,
except for two narrow strips zoned for commercial devel-opment,
and one short section ear the "triangular commercial area"
zoned for low density residential use. Over half of the south
side of the highway is zoned for strip commercial development,
and most of the rest for medium density residential.
Commercial development was originally clustered at the north-eastern
end of Hughes Boulevard, but has not been expanded rapid-ly
along the southwestern section. In addition, there are scat-tered
commercial uses in residential areas which are nonconform-ing
at present. However, if present trends continue, commercial
development will line almost all of this highway. In effect the
city council is permitting pressure from commercial developers to
determine the pattern of development along these important arte^
rials. It should be pointed out that much of the land along these
streets originally zoned for commercial use has never been devel-oped,
or redeveloped as the case may be. The result of the strip
commercial development is that streets that were built to serve
through traffic and provide access to the city are being choked
with a growing number of access points which interrupt the traf-fic
flow and make it much more dangerous to travel these streets.
Industrial Developmen t
No new manufacturing establishments have been constructed
within the city limits since 1959. There have been renovations
and enlargements of existing uses. The most important of these
is the expansion of the granary on the river, located in the
northeastern part of the city, The soft drink bottling plant on
Ehringhaus Street has ceased operations, and the building has
been converted to office and retail use.
The major construction outside the city limits has been the
doubling in size of the Supac Plant, located on the Weeksville
8
Road on the southeastern side of the city The facility manu-factures
textile products. Although not within the planning area,
the purchase and development of the former Naval Air Station by
the Westinghouse Corporation is having an important impact upon
the city T s economy. This facility is located about six miles
south of Elizabeth City on the Weeksville Roado It manufactures
cabinets made primarily from wood, some of which is grown within
the region. The current rate of employment is about 300, making
it the largest industrial employer in the area. Projections of
future employment are from 500 to 1,000. Thus the growth poten-tial
of this facility is of considerable importance to the city
and its plans for the future.
Although there are adequate vacant industrial sites for
future expansion, in terms of space, within the city limits
adjacent to the railroad and near the river, none are very attrac-tive
and some lie in poorly drained areas« Because most light
manufacturing facilities rely heavily on trucks for transport,
it is likely that tracts of land lying just beyond the developed
areas, particularly along Halstead Boulevard, will have more
appeal to industrial prospects. Planned extensions of the city T s
sewer and water facilities will make it possible to extend city
services to these areas with relatively little additional cost.
Residential Developmen t
Changes in residential development in the Elizabeth City
Planning Area from 1959 to 1967 have been created by four dif-ferent
forces; private enterprise, the building inspection pro-gram,
the public housing authority, and the redevelopment commis-sion.
The major contribution of private enterprise has been the
construction of about 300 medium priced and expensive homes.
These homes have been located primarily in the fringe areas of
the city.
9
The city has had an active program of housing inspection
since 1965. During the last two years it has carried out inspec-tion
in 2,130 houses or approximately 60 percent of the estimated
residences within the city limits. Of those inspected 62 percent
or 1,313 were found in good condition, A total of 817 houses was
found in need of repair of which 293 required condemnation,, A
total of 258 structures have been demolished, 121 through the
housing inspection program and 137 under the redevelopment com-mission
program.
The Housing Authority has built two major public residential
projects: Debry Courts with 140 units and Hariot Heights with
50 units. Another project of 60 units is contemplated for the
Harney Street Redevelopment area. DeBry Courts is located on
Pear Tree Road on the south side of the city. All residents in
the housing area are Negro Hariot Heights is located on the
west side of the city on Ehringhaus Streets Most of the resi-dents
in this development are white.
The Redevelopment Commission has been active in carrying
out the Harney Street Project, which as indicated above con-demned
and removed 137 substandard homes Although the Harney
Street Project is completely planned at this time and nearly all
of the structures removed, no improvements have been started.
At present, the commission is working on another project for
redeveloping several blocks on the south edge of the Central
Business District.
Public and Semi-Public Development
Land in this category includes public and private schools,
colleges, medical facilities, churches, cemeteries, recreation
areas, and other public facilities. The only significant change
in school and college land use within the planning area was the
addition of the College of the Albemarle in 1963, a combined
two-year community college and technical training institute. The
college is located at the east end of Riverside Avenue on a small
1 1
tract of land less than four acres in size. The property extends
along the river shore to Pryor Avenue and is enclosed on all land-ward
sides by residential developments The classroom and admini-strative
building was formerly the old city hospitalo Although
the college development harmonizes with the neighborhood, it is
severely cramped for space for future expansion Enrollment has
increased by about 50 percent each year, and presently is about
500* Serious consideration should be given to finding a new site
elsewhere in the city which would provide more adequate room for
the necessary functions of the college and for future expansion,
Albemarle Hospital, a 150 bed facility, was built in 1961 on
a 30 acre tract on U S Highway 17, about three-fourths of a mile
north of the city limitSo Nearing completion, on an eight acre
tract bordering on the south side of the hospital property, is a
new medical clinic, which will provide office space for most of
the city T s doctors., These additions are the major new expansions
of medical facilities in the planning area since 1959 The prop-erties
are well landscaped, the buildings have a very pleasing
appearance, parking areas are paved and adequate in size, and
traffic entrances and exits are well handled and present no sig-nificant
problems. Nurses* quarters have been constructed at the
hospital, and there is space for future expansions to the complex
as they are needed,
The amount of land used for churches has not increased sig-nificantly
since 1959. There have been some expansions of exist-ing
facilities, and several new churches have been built How-ever,
some older churches have been abandoned or torn down, so
that the net change in acreage used has been smallo Cemeteries
within the city limits have been almost completely filled,. In
fact most of them have been filled for many years. A new ceme-tery
on West Main Street Extension outside, the city limits has
been heavily used. During the planning period additional ceme-teries
will be needed by the city's population,, However, it is
probably that most of them will be located outside the planning
area on relatively low value land.
12
Public recreation areas and facilities are almost nonexist-ant
in Elizabeth City. Behind the Boy ' s Club, the city owns 13
acres, which contain three paved but unlighted tennis courts and
turf covered open areas. Other than this property, the city owns
four acres developed as a ball park for a teen-age baseball pro-gram.
The amount of additional land needed for existing and
future public recreation use, about 250 to 300 acres, will be
discussed fully in the Revision of the Community Facilities Plan,
a companion report of this study.
Other new public uses include the city hall, built in 1 9 6
1
It is located in the Central Business District on East Colonial
Avenue. Space is provided for administrative offices and the
police department. The building is located on a small lot, with
no off-street public parking providedo Additional parking space
is badly needed.
A recently acquired piece of property on Camden Causeway is
being used as a land fill. The city plans to convert the area
into a park after land reclamation is complete. At the present
time the area is heavily used for trash and refuse dumping and
is inadequately controlled. Paper and debris blow across the
highway littering the whole lower end of the causeway Fencing
is badly needed. In addition, more care should be taken to pack
the rubbish and cover it with earth. This open dump is an eye-sore
and spoils the eastern approach to the city over U „
S
High-way
158. A new sewage treatment plant is being built on a tract
of land on the northeast side of town bordering on the Pasquo-tank
River. The land lies in a swampy area just outside the city
limits. It is being filled and reclaimed by a massive dredging
and filling process. When future expansion of this facility is
needed, the land will be available.
Because considerable amounts of additional public land will
be needed for recreation areas and facilities and for school and
college expansions, much of the new public land development will
occur outside the city limits. The amount of vacant land suitable
13
for building purposes inside the city is limited, and much of it
is in small parcels, inadequate in size and accessibly for many
needed public areas
Utilities
Land used for public utilities within the city limits is an
insignificant portion of the total land area. The increase in
land use for utilities outside the city has been caused mainly
by the location of a new Virginia Electric and Power office on
West Ehringhaus Street, a new Norfolk and Carolina Telephone Com-pany
maintenance and shop facility on West Church Street Exten-sion,
and additional power s ub-s ta t i ons
.
Vacant, Agricultural, and Wooded Land
Of the total land in the Elizabeth City Planning Area, over
3,000 acres is made up of vacant, wooded, and agricultural land.
Within the city limits, woods land drainage ways, swamp land,
and agricultural land take up about 500 acres. The remaining
vacant land is generally in small tracts scattered throughout
the city Development is relatively dense north of the Central
Business District, with little vacant land available Most of
the land that is available has been zoned for industrial or com-mercial
use, On the west side of the Central Business District,
between Main Street and Enringhaus Street, there is one fairly
large tract of land, zoned industrial. Other small tracts are
available for residential development and they are being built
upon gradually. South of Ehringhaus Street and eastward to the
river is a predominantly residential area. There are numerous
small and medium sized vacant spaces scattered throughout this
part of the city. The south central part is primarily in Negro
residential development. New construction is very slow in this
section and the vacant land is not being developed very rapidly,
since much of the new construction is in replacement homes. The
southeastern area, on the other hand, is the location of the best
14
new residential construction in the city. Thus far development
in this area has been somewhat clustered, but several undeveloped
vacant spaces remain. However, almost all of these spaces are
platted and new homes are gradually filling them up „ There is a
definite limit to the amount of new residential construction that
can take place within the city,, It is unlikely that the land
area within the city will be used for more than 300 new homes in
the future. Much of the wooded land is low lying (particularly
on the north river shore and along the branches and streams
leading to the Pasquotank River) and unsuited for residential
development. Other tracts that are available are situated in
deteriorating low income neighborhoods which inhibit new develop-ment.
Outside the city limits are generous tracts of open space,
but much of it is not suitable for residential development,, The
best land lies north of Knobbs Creek along U S Highway 17 north,
on the west side of the city near Halstead Boulevard and on the
southeast side of the city extending southward along the river
The southeastern section of the planning area probably will con-tinue
to receive a large amount of the new residential develop-ment
because it has more available land, contains the best new
development, and is more accessible to the major shopping areas
than land on the north side of the city s Agricultural uses con-tinue
to "tie up" most Of the land on the west side of Halstead
Boulevard, and residential development in that area has been very
s low
.
It is probable that most of the new industrial development
will take place outside the city limits, either along U,S High-way
17 north or south of the city, Halstead Boulevard, or Weeks-ville
Road. The city has zoned tracts of land on the north side
of town along Knobbs^Creek for industry, but the attraction of
water transportation by barge has been more than offset by the
fact the land is swampy or very poorly drained and has unattract-ive
surroundings.
15
Land on the north side of U.S* Highway 17 Bypass (Hughes
Boulevard and Westover Boulevard) has also been set aside for
industrial development This land is served by the railroad which
lies just north of the highway c However, in the past nine years
no industries have located there, although some bulk petroleum
and warehousing facilities have been added,, A deterrent to indus-try^
locating on these sites is the cluttered and generally un-attractive
appearance of the area.
Conclusions
Elizabeth City, including its one mile area, is expanding
in growth primarily to the southeast and to a lesser extent to
the north and the west, Map 3 shows the new growth, barriers
to growth, and the probable directions of future growth
New commercial development has tended to become decentralized
from the Central Business District area since 1959 Ehringhaus
Street and Hughes Boulevard are rapidly undergoing strip commer-cial
development, with resulting problems in traffic congestion
and nuisance to existing residential development,. With the com-pletion
of a new shopping center, the "triangle" formed by Hal-stead
Boulevard, Hughes Boulevard, and Ehringhaus Street will
contain the largest commercial concentration outside the Central
Business District. The economic problems in the Central Business
District have been aggravated by the loss by fire of the main
office and commercial building in the heart of the downtown,
Added to this are traffic congestion on the narrow downtown streets
and inadequate off-street parking facilities,,
There has been no industrial development within the city
limits for many years. The sites reserved for industrial use
within the city are either on marginal land or surrounded by
unattractive development. Better sites are available outside
the c i ty
.
16
Public and semi-public land inside the city has increased
only slightly, indicating the lack of an aggressive program to
acquire and develop public recreation areas and facilitieso Out-side
the city limits, medical facility expansion has accounted
for most of the measured increase in public and semi-public land.
Public housing development has provided 190 units for low
income families. Obviously many more adequate housing units are
needed for low income families. About 200 new homes have been
built within the city during the past nine years and about 100
within the one mile area. These developments are generally well
laid out and very attractive in appearance.
Expansion of land used for streets and public utilities has
been relatively minor. The amount of vacant land available for
development has decreased gradually, both within the city and
outside. Because desirable building space is becoming scarce
within the city, most of the new development will have to occur
outside
.
17
PROJECTIONS &
COMPARISONS
POPULATION PROJECTIONS AND FUTURE LAND USE COMPARISONS
This section provides a brief summary of Elizabeth City T s
population growth during the past 60 years and a projection of
the population up to 1990. Based on these projections, estimates
of future land use needs have been made for residential, commer-cial,
industrial, and public and semi-public land
Population Projections
Based on the studies of Elizabeth City*s population contain-ed
in the 1961 Development Plan and the 1965 Downtown Elizabeth
City - Population and Economic Background , the city' s 1980 popu-lation
should fall somewhere between 16,000 and 19,000* Based
on past trends in population growth, it is probable that the high-er
figure will be the most reasonable assumption,,
Table 2 shows the population growth of the city between 1900
and 1960.
TABLE 2 - POPULATION AND PERCENT INCREASE PER
DECADE FOR ELIZABETH CITY, 1900-1960
Year Elizabeth City State of No Co
Number Percent Number Percent
1900 6,348 1,893,810
1910 8,412 +32,5 2,206,287 + 16,5
1920 8,925 + 6o2 2,559,123 +16=0
1930 10,037 +12,5 3,170,276 + 23*9
1940 11,464 +15,2 3,571,623 +12=7
1950 12,685 + 9 7 4,061,929 +13,7
1960 14,062 +10,9 4,556,155 +12»2
Average in-crease
per I
Decade since
1910 942 10.9 391 , 645 15 o 7
19
In order to arrive at an estimate of the land that will
probably be developed within the Elizabeth City Planning Area
(all land within one mile of the city limits, plus the city
itself) by 1987, population projections have been made for the
outlying areas. The projections are based on estimates derived
from existing residential development in these areas. Thus pop-ulation
figures for the outlying areas have been projected in
parallel with those for the city, and added together to arrive
at a total for all of the planning area, It has been assumed
that the rate of increase (12 percent) used for the city f s pop-ulation
would be doubled in the outlying areas, since most of
the new growth is occurring there (see table below).
TABLE 3 - POPULATION PROJECTIONS,
ELIZABETH CITY PLANNING AREA, 1987
Year
Within City
Limits
Within One-
Mile Are a
Total Planning
Area Population
1960 14,062 1,350 15,412
1967 15 ,243 1,577 16,820
1970 15 , 749 1 ,674 17,423
1980 17, 639 2,076 19,715
1987 19, 121 2 ,423 21 ,544
Three City Comparison of Land Use Figures
Land use acreages and acres per 100 persons have been com-piled
for Williamston and Wilmington and may be compared with
those for Elizabeth City. These cities were chosen because they
are both located in the coastal plain and on the banks of rivers.
Therefore, they should have many basic development characteris-tics
in common. The City of Williamston is approximately one-half
the size as Elizabeth City, while Wilmington is three times
larger. The figures below indicate land use totals within the
corporate limits only.
20
TABLE 4 - COMPARISON OF LAND USE FIGURES FOR
ELIZABETH CITY, WILLIAMSTON & WILMINGTON
Elizabeth
City
( 15,000
Population)
Ac res
Per 100
L) /~\ /-> f\ 1
J- GOp 1
c
William-ston
(7,000
Population)
Acres
Per 100
Prcof~\p 1ic
W 1 1 m i np ton
(45,000
rropu Lai ion )
Acre s
Per 100
it cop i
e
Residential 828 5.43 397 5.69 1,503 3.41
Commercial 91 .59 78 1.11 171 .39
Industrial 22 . 14 65 .92 426 .97
Civic
Services
127 .83 71 1.01 362 .82
Street 627 4.11 240 3.42 1,030 2.34
Vacant 1,060 6.95 743 10.61 1,388 3.15
Total Acres 2,755 1,594 4,880
It is difficult to make any detailed conclusions from the
comparison of land use statistics from various cities because of
the differences which may exist in their development pattern.
However, very generalized conclusions can be considered which
may give some evaluation of future land use trends.
As shown by the land use comparisons above, the computation
of future land use needs can not be based totally upon the in-crease
in population. Consideration must be given to the spe-cific
conditions of a given locality.
The figures for the three towns indicate that as a city
gets larger the amount of land which is utilized per unit of
population tends to become smaller. For example, the acres per
100 persons of residential land is about two acres less in Wil-mington
than in Elizabeth City and Williamston indicating the
increased densities at which residences have been developed*
Other things indicated by the comparison is that the amount of
land used for social and cultural and transportation purposes
decreases proportionally as the city increases in size,
21
This analysis indicates that most of the conclusions drawn
in the 1959 Development Plan are still valid. The greatest use
of land is for residential purposes. The amount of land being
utilized for both recreation and industrial purposes is low, and
the amount of developable vacant land within the city limits is
low, indicating the compact nature of development. Although the
city is limited in its ability to create policies which will
change the economic potential of the city, it can develop more
land for recreational purposes. This has been recommended and
is contained in the separate report updating the community facil-ities
plan. The development of other land uses will necessarily
be dependent upon greater industrial employment. This is pri-marily
related to the future possibilities which exist in the
development of the Westinghouse plant and the effect that this
will have in regard to increased housing and commercial develop-ment.
22
LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN
REVISION OF THE GENERAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
This section provides a discussion of each land use by type
and sets forth the recommended changes in the 1959 Land Develop-ment
Plan for Elizabeth City. Reference should be made to the
1959 Development Plan as well as to the 1967 Plan when reading
this section. It will be noted that the 1959 Plan was divided
into three major elements, a drainage structures plan, a sketch
thoroughfare plan, and a land use plan. The 1959 Development
Plan map used in this report combines all of these elements into
one map to provide better comparisons with the 1967 map which
also includes all these elements. The following land use types
will be included in this section: commercial, industrial, public
and semi-public, residential, utilities, street, and vacant,
agricultural, and wooded.
1987 Land Use Projections
Based on the above population projections, national stan-dards
of recreation land use, local averages of commercial, resi-dential,
public and semi-public, street, and utility land use,
the following projections have been made for land use in Eliza-beth
City Planning Area for 1987. Computation of future land
use needs is explained in the following discussions of each land
u s e t y p e .
TABLE 5 - PROJECTED LAND USE, 1987
1967
Land Use
1987
Projected Need s
Provided
For In Plan
C omm er c i a 1
Industrial
Public and
Semi- Public
Residential
Utilities
Street
Vacant, Agri
and Wooded
160
117
287
1 ,048
58
895
2,937
210
250
675
1,375
75
1 , 000
1,912
240
565
600
2,100
75
1 ,000
922
23
Commer c ia 1 La nd D eve lopment
According to land use projections, an additional 50 acres
will be needed for commercial development by 1987. At the pres-ent
time, there are 96.3 people per acre of commercial land in
Elizabeth City. If this ratio remains constant throughout the
planning period, Elizabeth City will need 60 additional acres of
land for commercial use. A large part of this acreage will be
utilized by a shopping center that is already planned. The
remainder of the projected needs will be utilized by neighbor-hood
shopping centers and a small increase in highway oriented
business.
There are thirty additional acres of land provided for in
the plan. This extra land is provided in order to compensate
for unpredictable occurrences such as a downtown automobile
dealer moving to the outskirts of town and utilizing a much
larger amount of land.
Based on present trends, most of this new development will
take place outside the present city limits. The revised plan
provides for continued expansion of the new commercial node which
is developing at the intersection of Halstead Boulevard and
Ehringhaus Street. Smaller nodes have been designated for the
intersection of the proposed Halstead Street Extension and U.S.
Highway 17 near the hospital, and the intersection of Halstead
Boulevard and Edgewood Drive on the south side of the city. These
proposed nodes and expansions of existing development will pro-vide
commercial shopping centers to accommodate anticipated new
residential growth. In addition, they are tied to the proposed
inner loop arterial system and should therefore be more accessi-ble
to outlying suburban development than cluttered strip com-mercial
development on Hughes Boulevard or Ehringhaus Street.
Industrial Land Development
It has been pointed out in this report that no new indus-trial
development has taken place within the corporate limits of
26
Elizabeth City in the past ten years. During this period, one
plant has been located outside the city within the planning area.
Most of the land within the city that has been set aside for
industrial development is not competitive with what most cities
have to offer. Much of the land set aside is low lying and poor-ly
drained, and most of it has unattractive surroundings . There
are no vacant tracts within the city limits other than those
zoned for industrial use that are suitable for such development,,
However, within the planning area are several tracts which are
well drained, attractive in appearance and surroundings, and
served by a railroad and an adequate arterial highway,, Three
new sites on Halstead Boulevard are proposed for new industrial
development. Planned extensions of the city's water and sewer
system will permit these services to be extended to the Halstead
Boulevard area in the near future. It is proposed that much of
the area lying along Hughes Boulevard be left in industrial or
wholesaling zones. However, the tract of city owned land bor-dered
by Knobbs Creek could be well utilized as a public recre-ation
area. Parts of this site need filling which could be
accomplished by shifting the sanitary land fill as the other
sites fill up. The rest of the industrially zoned land could
be used for lumber mill expansion, oil bulk plants, coal yards,
building materials fabrication, and wholesaling and storage
facilities.
What must be kept in mind is the fact that the typical
modern light industrial plant is not being located in the old,
run down parts of town, but is being built on well drained
prime developable land. In order to have a reasonable chance in
attracting new manufacturing industries, a city must have such
land available at a reasonable price, and it usually must be
served by water, sewer, electricity, and a railway and highways
It is not practical to base future land use needs complete-ly
upon the expected increase in population because a small
plant can employ a large number of employees and a large plant
27
can employ a small number. However, the tendency of new indus-trial
plants is to buy large sites in order to have adequate
space for such things as landscaping and parking,, Also in order
for Elizabeth City to support the projected increase in popula-tion,
the city must increase job opportunities by at least thirty
percent. Because of the necessity for more jobs and the desire
for larger sites, industrial land use will double during the
planning period. However, much more land is provided in the
Land Development Plan because multiple sites must be offered to
the prospective industries.
Public and Semi-Public
By 1987, Elizabeth City will need more than double the pres-ent
acreage of public and semi-public land if it is to raise
itself to national standards for recreation areas and facilities.
The general lack of these facilities is the greatest shortcoming
the city faces today in trying to provide an adequate range of
public services and facilities for its people. The lack of these
facilities has been a detriment to the city in its past. Just
as a lack of suitable industrial sites has deterred industrial
growth in the past, so will a continuing lack of adequate recre-ation
facilities cripple the city f s future growth and develop-ment
.
If the city provides the needed land for recreation by
1987, about 300 acres will be needed. ^ The major proposed
facility will be a large park of about 200 acres that should be
available for use by city and county residents. This facility
should be located adjacent to the new consolidated city-county
school off U.S. Highway 17 just west of the city. The football
stadium, parking areas, and certain multiple use areas could be
located on the city owned facility adjacent to the school, How-ever,
a separate community center building should be built on
The standard of the National Recreation Association is 10
to 15 acres per 1000 people.
28,
the city park and building space should not be shared with the
school.
Another major park would be located on Knobbs Creek at the
intersection of Hughes Boulevard and North Road Street. Most of
this proposed location is already owned by the city„ Additional
lands could be acquired and the low spots in the area could be
filled to provide a park and picnic facility of 50 to 100 acres,
This park would border Knobbs Creek and would provide access to
the Pasquotank River. A third proposed new recreation facility
would be located just west of the hospital on the north side of
Highway 17. This park would contain 25 to 50 acres and would
provide direct water access to the Pasquotank River since it
would border the river.
Additional recreation areas proposed in the 1959 Land Devel-opment
Plan are shown on Page 25. A more detailed plan for recre-ation
is contained in the Revision of the Community Facilities
Plan. Other lands needed for public and semi-public land use
such as churches, city buildings, and medical facilities are
difficult to project and show on a small scale map. Thus, only
the major uses in this category are shown on the 1987 Development
P lan.
Residential Land Use
It is anticipated that over 300 acres of land will be used
for new residential development in Elizabeth City during the
next twenty years. This projection is based upon the theory
that residential land use will increase in direct proportion to
the increase in population. Approximately 500 acres of addi-tional
recreational land is provided in the plan. Not all of
this land is expected to develop, but if development occurs, it
should be residential.
Based on present trends, the major direction of new growth
will be to the south of the city, with further development of
a smaller scale to the west and north. The 1987 Development
29
Plan indicates additional areas other than those shown on the
1959 Plan that are expected to undergo residential development.
The new consolidated high school will tend to reinforce the
developmental attraction of the new shopping core developing at
the intersection of Halstead Boulevard and Ehringhaus Street.
Utilities Development
Compared to the other types of land use discussed above,
utilities will take a small amount of additional land by 1987,
only about 20 acres. This land will be scattered in small
tracts throughout the planning area.
Street Development
The projected outward extension of the growth and develop-ment
of Elizabeth City will require a number of additional resi-dential
streets and several new arterials and connecting links.
It is anticipated that about 200 additional acres of land will
be used for street development in the next twenty years. Most
of this new development will occur outside the existing city
limits but within the planning area. The major proposed improve-ments
are described in the Elizabeth City Thoroughfare Plan pre-pared
for the city by the N. C, Highway Commission in August
1965. This plan has been incorporated in the 1987 Development
Plan.
Vacant, Agricultural, and Wooded Land
The vacant, agricultural, and wooded land in the Elizabeth
City Planning Area is expected to decline by over 1,000 acres
in the next twenty years. As the pressure for new land increases,
the expense for land is likely to rise. A wise public policy of
acquiring lands for public use in accordance with a plan and
well in advance of their actual development can save the tax-payers
a great amount of money. The city should gear its capi-tal
improvements budget so that such advance acquisitions can be
made .
30
RECOMMENDATIONS
& IMPLEMENTATION
RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
The plan contained in this report is a generalized blueprint
for the future growth and development of the Elizabeth City Plan-ning
Area. The city has made great strides in the past nine years
in improving its housing conditions with the adoption and enforce-ment
of uniform building codes and housing codes. In addition, a
new zoning ordinance and subdivision regulations were adopted in
1961. Many improvements in public facilities have been made since
1959. The most notable is the sewerage treatment plant now under-going
construction. The urban renewal program is revitalizing
some of the older, worn-out parts of the city and at the same
time adding needed public facilities,, However, there are many
problems to solve. The following recommendations, some of them
first proposed in the 1961 Development Plan Report, are made to
accompany the Development Plan. They are concerned with the plan-ning,
administration, and development of the city
1. It is recommended that a comprehensive study be made of
the feasibility of annexing the areas outside the city
limits that are receiving "spillover" development,, The
divergent directions of growth will make it difficult
to take in all areas at once because of the expense in-volved
in providing municipal services, However, it
is important that the city adopt a policy of annexation
before problems of providing municipal services becomes
so great and expensive that annexation becomes economi-cally
unfeasible.
2. It is recommended that the city create a Municipal Rec-reation
Department and hire an administrative director
and staff directly responsible to the City Manager. The
newly appointed Recreation Advisory Committee should work
with the director in helping him to prepare a comprehen-sive
recreation program for Elizabeth City„ In time,
the new committee should be designated The Recreation
Commission and it should work to provide citizen support
for the program and to advise the director and staff of
the city's needs.
31
3. The city should take immediate steps to implement the
recreation plan contained in the Revised Community Facil-ities
Plan. The greatest need at the present time is
to acquire the needed land for the development of recre-ation
areas and facilities*,
4. It is recommended that the city increase its efforts to
implement the Central Business District Plan adopted in
1965. The competition from commercial areas on the
perimeter of the city is making serious inroads on the
economic viability of the downtown area.
5. It is recommended that the merchants in the Central Busi-ness
District take immediate steps to provide additional
off-street parking in the central area to match the
efforts made by the city.
6. The existing zoning ordinance needs revisions to bring
it up to date. The policy of using amendments to the
zoning ordinance to shape the future pattern of develop-ment
should be revised. The ordinance should reflect
realistically the desirable future pattern of develop-ment,
namely the Revised Land Development Plan.
IMPLEMENTATION
Among the programs available to aid the city in planning,
acquiring, and developing additional public facilities are the
f o 1 lowi ng
,
Land and Water Conservation Fund Program
Under the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965,
states and their political subdivisions are eligible for grants
for planning, acquiring land and developing outdoor recreation
areas and facilities. Governmental units who wish to apply must
present to a liaison office the project to be administered. This
program is being administered at the State level by the State
Planning Task Force, North Carolina Department of Administration.
Neighborhood Facilities Program
Under the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1956, local
public bodies are eligible for grants to assist in financing spe-cific
projects for neighborhood facilities such as youth centers,
32
health stations, and other public facilities that provide social
and related services to ne ighborhoods „ Grants may be three-fourths
of the cost of new construction, acquisition or r ehab i 1 i t a t io
n
For information contact the Urban Renewal Administration,
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D C
Advance Acquisition of Land
This program encourages and assists local public bodies or
agencies to acquire, in a planned and orderly fashion, land and
interests in land to be utilized in connection with future con-struction
of public works and facilities. Grants are authorized
not in excess of the aggregate amount of reasonable interest
charges on funds borrowed locally to finance the acquisition of
land for a period of five years from the date the loan is made
or such financial obligation is incurred, until an earlier date
when construction begins on the public improvement for which the
land was acquired.
For information contacts Community Facilities Administration,
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 645 Peachtree -
7th Building, NE , Atlanta, Georgia 30323o
Advances fo r Public Works Planning
This program provides interest-free advances to States,
their political subdivisions, and public agencies to assist them
in planning essential public works and community facilities
(except public housing) to be constructed within a reasonable
period.
The planning advances are repaid to the Federal government
when construction begins.
For information contact; Community Facilities Administration
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 645 Peachtree-
7th Building, NE , Atlanta, Georgia 30323.
33

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LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN
ELIZABETH CITY, N. C.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2014
ELIZABETH CITY. N.
L
https://archive.org/details/landdevelopment1968nort_0
id Urban De-
FOREWORD
Elizabeth City contracted with the Division of Community
Planning of the N.C. Department of Conservation and Development
in October of 1965 for technical assistance in the revision of
its Land Use Survey and Analysis, its Development Plan, and its
Community Facilities Plan. This publication, Rev is ion of the
Land Development Plan. Elizabeth City. N. C. . updates the Devel-opment
Plan prepared in 1961, This report contains new data,
analyses, and recommendations. In addition, a new base map has
been prepared and incorporated in the report.
Previous reports published for Elizabeth City under contract
by the Division of Community Planning are as follows:
Parking Study, December 1960
Subdivision Regulations, March 1961
Development Plan for Elizabeth City, June 1961
Zoning Ordinance, September 1961
Public Improvements Program, May 1962
Community Facilities Plan, August 1962
Neighborhood Analysis, June 1963
Downtown Elizabeth City - Population and Economy
Background, February 1965
Downtown Elizabeth City - A Preliminary Design Plan,
November 1965
PREPARED FOR THE
TOWN OF ELIZABETH CITY, NORTH CAROLINA
J. Holland Webster, Mayor
Robert W Luther, City Manager
Town Council Planning Board
Cader P . Harr is , Jr. Melvin R. Daniels,
G. P. Dixon Edse 1 Wha ley
John Wood Foreman Jo W Johnson, Jr.
B. C. Jennette S o E lmo Will iams
A. P. Midgett Ac Bo Ethridge
Tyra L . Newe 11, Jr
.
C. E. Richardson
W. H. Tuns ta 1
1
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY
DIVISION OF COMMUNITY PLANNING
DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
George J. Monaghan, Administrator
COASTAL AREA OFFICE
James R c Hinkley, Director
PROJECT STAFF
William E Howell, Community Planner
James G, Blake, Community Planner
Douglas L a Wiggins, Planning Technician
Mitchel R Woolard, Draftsman
Marian J. Alligood, Secretary
March 1968 Price $2o00
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION . . . , 1
LAND USE SURVEY AND ANALYSIS 3
Commercial Development « . . 6
Industrial Development 8
Residential Development . 9
Public and Semi-Public Development 11
Utilities , 14
Vacant, Agricultural and Wooded 14
Conclusions 16
POPULATION PROJECTIONS AND LAND USE COMPARISONS .... 19
Population Projections 19
Land Use Comparisons 20
LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN , 23
Commercial Land Development ..... 26
Industrial Land Development 26
Public and Semi-Public 28
Residential Land Use 29
Utilities Development 30
Street Development
.
30
Vacant, Agricultural and Wooded 30
RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION . , 3 1
LIST OF MAPS
Page
1959 Land Use Survey . 4
1967 Land Use Survey t 5
1959 Land Development Plan . . 24
1987 Land Development Plan f 25
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
The original land use survey for Elizabeth City was prepared
for the city by the Division of Community Planning in 1959 Q In
1961 this data was incorporated and published in the Deve lopment
Plan for Elizabeth City , Since that time numerous changes have
taken place within the city and the fringe area, In order to
determine the magnitude of these changes and to assess their
effect upon the original development plan, a new land use survey
and analysis has been prepared, Because the fringe area (all
land located within one mile of the city limits on all sides of
the city) was not adequately shown on the original base map, a
new map has been prepared and used for the survey as well as
this report.
Based on the new survey, this report compares the existing
land use pattern (1967) with the 1959 pattern and analyzes the
more significant changes and their implications for future
growth and development. The survey provides separate breakdown
of the land use totals both inside and outside the city limits
However, changes occurring within the city limits will be con-sidered
together with those occurring on the outside because
they are interrelated and often stem from common causes.
The revised land development plan presented in this report
is largely based on the land use survey, plus the anticipated
future population, and the existing and proposed pattern of pub-lic
utilities and facilities, such as the water system, the
sewage system, and the transportation system.
As stated in the 1961 Development Plan for Elizabeth City ,
N a C
.
, the Development Plan "is concerned primarily with defining
the form and extent of the future city D It is designed to insure
that future growth and development will be orderly and pleasant,
by suggesting how the existing and proposed playgrounds, residences
streets, industry and other land uses should be related to each
other. It, therefore, provides a general framework within which
more detailed development can be. made.
When future development or improvements are contemplated
within the community, the Development Plan is intended to act as
a guide, both to private citizens and to the public official. To
the private citizen, it indicates the type of neighborhood he can
expect to live in, the best location for this business or industry,
and the location of major arterial streets. To the public official,
it is a framework for providing public facilities. To the Planning
Commission, it is an outline of long-term growth against which each
proposed new development may be judged and evaluated, before they
make recommendations to the City Council*"
The first part of this report contains the revised land use
survey and analysis. The second part uses population projections
to determine the approximate future land use needs of the city in
1987. The third part of the report will present the revised
development plan for 1987. It will consist of two parts - a
sketch thoroughfare plan and a land development plan. The fourth
and final part presents the recommendations and implementation
procedures
.
2
LAND USE SURVEY
AND ANALYSIS
"HU|*|P||||>|||IIMMMMM>^
LAND USE SURVEY AND ANALYSIS - 1967
The ii ew land use survey was made during the spring of 1967.
Although it excluded the Central Business District, the subject
of a 1965 Preliminary Design Plan, the survey included all other
land both within the city limits and extending outside for one
mile in all directions. Separate measures have been made of the
land devoted to various uses both inside and outside the corporate
limits. The results of this survey are compared with figures
from the 1959 survey in the table below. (See Maps 1 and 2).
TABLE 1 - LAND USE ACREAGES AND PERCENT CHANGES,
ELIZABETH CITY, 1959 - 1967
Inside City Limits Outside City L im i t s
1959 1967
%
Chang e 19 59 196 7
%
Ch ang e
C omm er c i a 1 85 9 1 + 7 . 1 32 69 + 115.6
Industrial 26 22 -15 . 4 12 95 + 691.7
Public and
S em i-Public 119 127 + 6 . 7 122 160 + 31.1
Res id ent i a 1 766 828 + 8. 1 180 220 + 22.2
Utilities 8 12 + 50 . 3 46 + 1 , 433 .
3
Street 625 627 + 0. 3 257 268 + 4.3
V ac an t ,
Agricultural,
Wood ed 964 926 - 3 . 9 2,190 2,011 8 . 2
Total 2,59 3 * 2,633 2,796 "* 2,869
""Change in total area reflects minor annexations since 1959 .
3
The area outside the city within the Elizabeth City Planning Area
is not completely shown on the 1959 Land Use Map. When prepared,
the 1959 base map did not include all of the one mile planning
area. Also, as Table 1 indicates, the total areas inside and
outside the city have changed slightly during the past eight years
because of annexations to include public housing areas lying
adjacent to the city limits. These annexations not only added to
the total land area inside the city but also caused a proportionate
increase in the one mile planning area.
Figures for the Central Business District land use from the
1965 survey have been incorporated with the 1967 survey to make
it comparable to the original 1959 figures which include the cen-tral
area. As the above figures indicate, the most important
changes in land use have been the growth of residential develop-ment
both inside and outside the city, and the rapid expansion
of commercial and industrial development outside. The following
sections provide an analysis of these and other significant land
use changes
.
Commercial Development
The major trend in the location of new commercial activities
in the Elizabeth City Planning Area has been the strip develop-ment
of Ehringhaus Street and Hughes Boulevard. The former pro-vides
the major western entry into the city off U.S. Highway 17
and leads directly to the Central Business District. The latter
is the western portion of the bypass route for U.S. 17. The
traffic congestion, deteriorating structures, and lack of ade-quate
parking that plague the Central Business District have pro-vided
a powerful stimulant for outlying commercial development.
The greatest concentration of this new development is occurring
outside the city limits on the west side of the city in and near
a triangular area delineated by Halstead Boulevard, Ehringhaus
Street, and Hughes Boulevard (U.So 17 Bypass). Recent construc-tion
within this area include a new motel, a restaurant, a service
6
station, a bowling alley, a rest home, and offices for Virginia
Electric and Power Company. Compared with other commercial areas
in town, the quality of these new businesses is very good. Ade-quate
off-street parking has been provided and no problems exist
except for somewhat increased traffic congestion,
In terms of its impact on the Central Business District, an
even more significant development, Southgate Mall Shopping Center
has been initiated on the southeastern side of this triangular
development. It will provide one or two department stores, a
variety of smaller stores, adequate parking areas, and ample room
for the planned future expansions There is no doubt that this
development will have a considerable impact on retail sales in
the Central Business District. Unless steps are taken quickly
to provide adequate parking and better circulation patterns for
automobiles, merchants can expect to lose much of their business.
Unfortunately, all the outlying commercial development is
not clustered into commercial areas or districts. Half of
Ehringhaus Street was originally zoned for commercial development
The rest was about equally divided between manufacturing, office
and institutional, and low density residential zones-, Through
amendments to the ordinance, all but one small res ident ia 1 ly
zoned area have been rezoned for commercial development.
Strip commercial development has occurred the length of
Ehringhaus Street. Most of the new development outside the
"triangle area" is of good quality and adequate off-street park-ing
has been provided in most instances. The poorest quality of
commercial development is located on what is called the "Endfield
Property." This piece of city owned land contains a number of
multi-family public housing units built during the Second World
War. The row of structures abutting Ehringhaus Street was sold
by the city and converted by the owners for offices and business.
Few external changes have been made to the wooden buildings and
parking is generally inadequate. Aside from this small cluster
development, commercial uses are scattered along the street from
the Central Business District to the triangle development.
Roughly the same pattern is developing along the U.S. 17
Bypass (Hughes Boulevard) that has occurred along Ehringhaus Street.
Almost all of the north side of the highway is zoned for manu-facturing,
except for two narrow strips zoned for commercial devel-opment,
and one short section ear the "triangular commercial area"
zoned for low density residential use. Over half of the south
side of the highway is zoned for strip commercial development,
and most of the rest for medium density residential.
Commercial development was originally clustered at the north-eastern
end of Hughes Boulevard, but has not been expanded rapid-ly
along the southwestern section. In addition, there are scat-tered
commercial uses in residential areas which are nonconform-ing
at present. However, if present trends continue, commercial
development will line almost all of this highway. In effect the
city council is permitting pressure from commercial developers to
determine the pattern of development along these important arte^
rials. It should be pointed out that much of the land along these
streets originally zoned for commercial use has never been devel-oped,
or redeveloped as the case may be. The result of the strip
commercial development is that streets that were built to serve
through traffic and provide access to the city are being choked
with a growing number of access points which interrupt the traf-fic
flow and make it much more dangerous to travel these streets.
Industrial Developmen t
No new manufacturing establishments have been constructed
within the city limits since 1959. There have been renovations
and enlargements of existing uses. The most important of these
is the expansion of the granary on the river, located in the
northeastern part of the city, The soft drink bottling plant on
Ehringhaus Street has ceased operations, and the building has
been converted to office and retail use.
The major construction outside the city limits has been the
doubling in size of the Supac Plant, located on the Weeksville
8
Road on the southeastern side of the city The facility manu-factures
textile products. Although not within the planning area,
the purchase and development of the former Naval Air Station by
the Westinghouse Corporation is having an important impact upon
the city T s economy. This facility is located about six miles
south of Elizabeth City on the Weeksville Roado It manufactures
cabinets made primarily from wood, some of which is grown within
the region. The current rate of employment is about 300, making
it the largest industrial employer in the area. Projections of
future employment are from 500 to 1,000. Thus the growth poten-tial
of this facility is of considerable importance to the city
and its plans for the future.
Although there are adequate vacant industrial sites for
future expansion, in terms of space, within the city limits
adjacent to the railroad and near the river, none are very attrac-tive
and some lie in poorly drained areas« Because most light
manufacturing facilities rely heavily on trucks for transport,
it is likely that tracts of land lying just beyond the developed
areas, particularly along Halstead Boulevard, will have more
appeal to industrial prospects. Planned extensions of the city T s
sewer and water facilities will make it possible to extend city
services to these areas with relatively little additional cost.
Residential Developmen t
Changes in residential development in the Elizabeth City
Planning Area from 1959 to 1967 have been created by four dif-ferent
forces; private enterprise, the building inspection pro-gram,
the public housing authority, and the redevelopment commis-sion.
The major contribution of private enterprise has been the
construction of about 300 medium priced and expensive homes.
These homes have been located primarily in the fringe areas of
the city.
9
The city has had an active program of housing inspection
since 1965. During the last two years it has carried out inspec-tion
in 2,130 houses or approximately 60 percent of the estimated
residences within the city limits. Of those inspected 62 percent
or 1,313 were found in good condition, A total of 817 houses was
found in need of repair of which 293 required condemnation,, A
total of 258 structures have been demolished, 121 through the
housing inspection program and 137 under the redevelopment com-mission
program.
The Housing Authority has built two major public residential
projects: Debry Courts with 140 units and Hariot Heights with
50 units. Another project of 60 units is contemplated for the
Harney Street Redevelopment area. DeBry Courts is located on
Pear Tree Road on the south side of the city. All residents in
the housing area are Negro Hariot Heights is located on the
west side of the city on Ehringhaus Streets Most of the resi-dents
in this development are white.
The Redevelopment Commission has been active in carrying
out the Harney Street Project, which as indicated above con-demned
and removed 137 substandard homes Although the Harney
Street Project is completely planned at this time and nearly all
of the structures removed, no improvements have been started.
At present, the commission is working on another project for
redeveloping several blocks on the south edge of the Central
Business District.
Public and Semi-Public Development
Land in this category includes public and private schools,
colleges, medical facilities, churches, cemeteries, recreation
areas, and other public facilities. The only significant change
in school and college land use within the planning area was the
addition of the College of the Albemarle in 1963, a combined
two-year community college and technical training institute. The
college is located at the east end of Riverside Avenue on a small
1 1
tract of land less than four acres in size. The property extends
along the river shore to Pryor Avenue and is enclosed on all land-ward
sides by residential developments The classroom and admini-strative
building was formerly the old city hospitalo Although
the college development harmonizes with the neighborhood, it is
severely cramped for space for future expansion Enrollment has
increased by about 50 percent each year, and presently is about
500* Serious consideration should be given to finding a new site
elsewhere in the city which would provide more adequate room for
the necessary functions of the college and for future expansion,
Albemarle Hospital, a 150 bed facility, was built in 1961 on
a 30 acre tract on U S Highway 17, about three-fourths of a mile
north of the city limitSo Nearing completion, on an eight acre
tract bordering on the south side of the hospital property, is a
new medical clinic, which will provide office space for most of
the city T s doctors., These additions are the major new expansions
of medical facilities in the planning area since 1959 The prop-erties
are well landscaped, the buildings have a very pleasing
appearance, parking areas are paved and adequate in size, and
traffic entrances and exits are well handled and present no sig-nificant
problems. Nurses* quarters have been constructed at the
hospital, and there is space for future expansions to the complex
as they are needed,
The amount of land used for churches has not increased sig-nificantly
since 1959. There have been some expansions of exist-ing
facilities, and several new churches have been built How-ever,
some older churches have been abandoned or torn down, so
that the net change in acreage used has been smallo Cemeteries
within the city limits have been almost completely filled,. In
fact most of them have been filled for many years. A new ceme-tery
on West Main Street Extension outside, the city limits has
been heavily used. During the planning period additional ceme-teries
will be needed by the city's population,, However, it is
probably that most of them will be located outside the planning
area on relatively low value land.
12
Public recreation areas and facilities are almost nonexist-ant
in Elizabeth City. Behind the Boy ' s Club, the city owns 13
acres, which contain three paved but unlighted tennis courts and
turf covered open areas. Other than this property, the city owns
four acres developed as a ball park for a teen-age baseball pro-gram.
The amount of additional land needed for existing and
future public recreation use, about 250 to 300 acres, will be
discussed fully in the Revision of the Community Facilities Plan,
a companion report of this study.
Other new public uses include the city hall, built in 1 9 6
1
It is located in the Central Business District on East Colonial
Avenue. Space is provided for administrative offices and the
police department. The building is located on a small lot, with
no off-street public parking providedo Additional parking space
is badly needed.
A recently acquired piece of property on Camden Causeway is
being used as a land fill. The city plans to convert the area
into a park after land reclamation is complete. At the present
time the area is heavily used for trash and refuse dumping and
is inadequately controlled. Paper and debris blow across the
highway littering the whole lower end of the causeway Fencing
is badly needed. In addition, more care should be taken to pack
the rubbish and cover it with earth. This open dump is an eye-sore
and spoils the eastern approach to the city over U „
S
High-way
158. A new sewage treatment plant is being built on a tract
of land on the northeast side of town bordering on the Pasquo-tank
River. The land lies in a swampy area just outside the city
limits. It is being filled and reclaimed by a massive dredging
and filling process. When future expansion of this facility is
needed, the land will be available.
Because considerable amounts of additional public land will
be needed for recreation areas and facilities and for school and
college expansions, much of the new public land development will
occur outside the city limits. The amount of vacant land suitable
13
for building purposes inside the city is limited, and much of it
is in small parcels, inadequate in size and accessibly for many
needed public areas
Utilities
Land used for public utilities within the city limits is an
insignificant portion of the total land area. The increase in
land use for utilities outside the city has been caused mainly
by the location of a new Virginia Electric and Power office on
West Ehringhaus Street, a new Norfolk and Carolina Telephone Com-pany
maintenance and shop facility on West Church Street Exten-sion,
and additional power s ub-s ta t i ons
.
Vacant, Agricultural, and Wooded Land
Of the total land in the Elizabeth City Planning Area, over
3,000 acres is made up of vacant, wooded, and agricultural land.
Within the city limits, woods land drainage ways, swamp land,
and agricultural land take up about 500 acres. The remaining
vacant land is generally in small tracts scattered throughout
the city Development is relatively dense north of the Central
Business District, with little vacant land available Most of
the land that is available has been zoned for industrial or com-mercial
use, On the west side of the Central Business District,
between Main Street and Enringhaus Street, there is one fairly
large tract of land, zoned industrial. Other small tracts are
available for residential development and they are being built
upon gradually. South of Ehringhaus Street and eastward to the
river is a predominantly residential area. There are numerous
small and medium sized vacant spaces scattered throughout this
part of the city. The south central part is primarily in Negro
residential development. New construction is very slow in this
section and the vacant land is not being developed very rapidly,
since much of the new construction is in replacement homes. The
southeastern area, on the other hand, is the location of the best
14
new residential construction in the city. Thus far development
in this area has been somewhat clustered, but several undeveloped
vacant spaces remain. However, almost all of these spaces are
platted and new homes are gradually filling them up „ There is a
definite limit to the amount of new residential construction that
can take place within the city,, It is unlikely that the land
area within the city will be used for more than 300 new homes in
the future. Much of the wooded land is low lying (particularly
on the north river shore and along the branches and streams
leading to the Pasquotank River) and unsuited for residential
development. Other tracts that are available are situated in
deteriorating low income neighborhoods which inhibit new develop-ment.
Outside the city limits are generous tracts of open space,
but much of it is not suitable for residential development,, The
best land lies north of Knobbs Creek along U S Highway 17 north,
on the west side of the city near Halstead Boulevard and on the
southeast side of the city extending southward along the river
The southeastern section of the planning area probably will con-tinue
to receive a large amount of the new residential develop-ment
because it has more available land, contains the best new
development, and is more accessible to the major shopping areas
than land on the north side of the city s Agricultural uses con-tinue
to "tie up" most Of the land on the west side of Halstead
Boulevard, and residential development in that area has been very
s low
.
It is probable that most of the new industrial development
will take place outside the city limits, either along U,S High-way
17 north or south of the city, Halstead Boulevard, or Weeks-ville
Road. The city has zoned tracts of land on the north side
of town along Knobbs^Creek for industry, but the attraction of
water transportation by barge has been more than offset by the
fact the land is swampy or very poorly drained and has unattract-ive
surroundings.
15
Land on the north side of U.S* Highway 17 Bypass (Hughes
Boulevard and Westover Boulevard) has also been set aside for
industrial development This land is served by the railroad which
lies just north of the highway c However, in the past nine years
no industries have located there, although some bulk petroleum
and warehousing facilities have been added,, A deterrent to indus-try^
locating on these sites is the cluttered and generally un-attractive
appearance of the area.
Conclusions
Elizabeth City, including its one mile area, is expanding
in growth primarily to the southeast and to a lesser extent to
the north and the west, Map 3 shows the new growth, barriers
to growth, and the probable directions of future growth
New commercial development has tended to become decentralized
from the Central Business District area since 1959 Ehringhaus
Street and Hughes Boulevard are rapidly undergoing strip commer-cial
development, with resulting problems in traffic congestion
and nuisance to existing residential development,. With the com-pletion
of a new shopping center, the "triangle" formed by Hal-stead
Boulevard, Hughes Boulevard, and Ehringhaus Street will
contain the largest commercial concentration outside the Central
Business District. The economic problems in the Central Business
District have been aggravated by the loss by fire of the main
office and commercial building in the heart of the downtown,
Added to this are traffic congestion on the narrow downtown streets
and inadequate off-street parking facilities,,
There has been no industrial development within the city
limits for many years. The sites reserved for industrial use
within the city are either on marginal land or surrounded by
unattractive development. Better sites are available outside
the c i ty
.
16
Public and semi-public land inside the city has increased
only slightly, indicating the lack of an aggressive program to
acquire and develop public recreation areas and facilitieso Out-side
the city limits, medical facility expansion has accounted
for most of the measured increase in public and semi-public land.
Public housing development has provided 190 units for low
income families. Obviously many more adequate housing units are
needed for low income families. About 200 new homes have been
built within the city during the past nine years and about 100
within the one mile area. These developments are generally well
laid out and very attractive in appearance.
Expansion of land used for streets and public utilities has
been relatively minor. The amount of vacant land available for
development has decreased gradually, both within the city and
outside. Because desirable building space is becoming scarce
within the city, most of the new development will have to occur
outside
.
17
PROJECTIONS &
COMPARISONS
POPULATION PROJECTIONS AND FUTURE LAND USE COMPARISONS
This section provides a brief summary of Elizabeth City T s
population growth during the past 60 years and a projection of
the population up to 1990. Based on these projections, estimates
of future land use needs have been made for residential, commer-cial,
industrial, and public and semi-public land
Population Projections
Based on the studies of Elizabeth City*s population contain-ed
in the 1961 Development Plan and the 1965 Downtown Elizabeth
City - Population and Economic Background , the city' s 1980 popu-lation
should fall somewhere between 16,000 and 19,000* Based
on past trends in population growth, it is probable that the high-er
figure will be the most reasonable assumption,,
Table 2 shows the population growth of the city between 1900
and 1960.
TABLE 2 - POPULATION AND PERCENT INCREASE PER
DECADE FOR ELIZABETH CITY, 1900-1960
Year Elizabeth City State of No Co
Number Percent Number Percent
1900 6,348 1,893,810
1910 8,412 +32,5 2,206,287 + 16,5
1920 8,925 + 6o2 2,559,123 +16=0
1930 10,037 +12,5 3,170,276 + 23*9
1940 11,464 +15,2 3,571,623 +12=7
1950 12,685 + 9 7 4,061,929 +13,7
1960 14,062 +10,9 4,556,155 +12»2
Average in-crease
per I
Decade since
1910 942 10.9 391 , 645 15 o 7
19
In order to arrive at an estimate of the land that will
probably be developed within the Elizabeth City Planning Area
(all land within one mile of the city limits, plus the city
itself) by 1987, population projections have been made for the
outlying areas. The projections are based on estimates derived
from existing residential development in these areas. Thus pop-ulation
figures for the outlying areas have been projected in
parallel with those for the city, and added together to arrive
at a total for all of the planning area, It has been assumed
that the rate of increase (12 percent) used for the city f s pop-ulation
would be doubled in the outlying areas, since most of
the new growth is occurring there (see table below).
TABLE 3 - POPULATION PROJECTIONS,
ELIZABETH CITY PLANNING AREA, 1987
Year
Within City
Limits
Within One-
Mile Are a
Total Planning
Area Population
1960 14,062 1,350 15,412
1967 15 ,243 1,577 16,820
1970 15 , 749 1 ,674 17,423
1980 17, 639 2,076 19,715
1987 19, 121 2 ,423 21 ,544
Three City Comparison of Land Use Figures
Land use acreages and acres per 100 persons have been com-piled
for Williamston and Wilmington and may be compared with
those for Elizabeth City. These cities were chosen because they
are both located in the coastal plain and on the banks of rivers.
Therefore, they should have many basic development characteris-tics
in common. The City of Williamston is approximately one-half
the size as Elizabeth City, while Wilmington is three times
larger. The figures below indicate land use totals within the
corporate limits only.
20
TABLE 4 - COMPARISON OF LAND USE FIGURES FOR
ELIZABETH CITY, WILLIAMSTON & WILMINGTON
Elizabeth
City
( 15,000
Population)
Ac res
Per 100
L) /~\ /-> f\ 1
J- GOp 1
c
William-ston
(7,000
Population)
Acres
Per 100
Prcof~\p 1ic
W 1 1 m i np ton
(45,000
rropu Lai ion )
Acre s
Per 100
it cop i
e
Residential 828 5.43 397 5.69 1,503 3.41
Commercial 91 .59 78 1.11 171 .39
Industrial 22 . 14 65 .92 426 .97
Civic
Services
127 .83 71 1.01 362 .82
Street 627 4.11 240 3.42 1,030 2.34
Vacant 1,060 6.95 743 10.61 1,388 3.15
Total Acres 2,755 1,594 4,880
It is difficult to make any detailed conclusions from the
comparison of land use statistics from various cities because of
the differences which may exist in their development pattern.
However, very generalized conclusions can be considered which
may give some evaluation of future land use trends.
As shown by the land use comparisons above, the computation
of future land use needs can not be based totally upon the in-crease
in population. Consideration must be given to the spe-cific
conditions of a given locality.
The figures for the three towns indicate that as a city
gets larger the amount of land which is utilized per unit of
population tends to become smaller. For example, the acres per
100 persons of residential land is about two acres less in Wil-mington
than in Elizabeth City and Williamston indicating the
increased densities at which residences have been developed*
Other things indicated by the comparison is that the amount of
land used for social and cultural and transportation purposes
decreases proportionally as the city increases in size,
21
This analysis indicates that most of the conclusions drawn
in the 1959 Development Plan are still valid. The greatest use
of land is for residential purposes. The amount of land being
utilized for both recreation and industrial purposes is low, and
the amount of developable vacant land within the city limits is
low, indicating the compact nature of development. Although the
city is limited in its ability to create policies which will
change the economic potential of the city, it can develop more
land for recreational purposes. This has been recommended and
is contained in the separate report updating the community facil-ities
plan. The development of other land uses will necessarily
be dependent upon greater industrial employment. This is pri-marily
related to the future possibilities which exist in the
development of the Westinghouse plant and the effect that this
will have in regard to increased housing and commercial develop-ment.
22
LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN
REVISION OF THE GENERAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
This section provides a discussion of each land use by type
and sets forth the recommended changes in the 1959 Land Develop-ment
Plan for Elizabeth City. Reference should be made to the
1959 Development Plan as well as to the 1967 Plan when reading
this section. It will be noted that the 1959 Plan was divided
into three major elements, a drainage structures plan, a sketch
thoroughfare plan, and a land use plan. The 1959 Development
Plan map used in this report combines all of these elements into
one map to provide better comparisons with the 1967 map which
also includes all these elements. The following land use types
will be included in this section: commercial, industrial, public
and semi-public, residential, utilities, street, and vacant,
agricultural, and wooded.
1987 Land Use Projections
Based on the above population projections, national stan-dards
of recreation land use, local averages of commercial, resi-dential,
public and semi-public, street, and utility land use,
the following projections have been made for land use in Eliza-beth
City Planning Area for 1987. Computation of future land
use needs is explained in the following discussions of each land
u s e t y p e .
TABLE 5 - PROJECTED LAND USE, 1987
1967
Land Use
1987
Projected Need s
Provided
For In Plan
C omm er c i a 1
Industrial
Public and
Semi- Public
Residential
Utilities
Street
Vacant, Agri
and Wooded
160
117
287
1 ,048
58
895
2,937
210
250
675
1,375
75
1 , 000
1,912
240
565
600
2,100
75
1 ,000
922
23
Commer c ia 1 La nd D eve lopment
According to land use projections, an additional 50 acres
will be needed for commercial development by 1987. At the pres-ent
time, there are 96.3 people per acre of commercial land in
Elizabeth City. If this ratio remains constant throughout the
planning period, Elizabeth City will need 60 additional acres of
land for commercial use. A large part of this acreage will be
utilized by a shopping center that is already planned. The
remainder of the projected needs will be utilized by neighbor-hood
shopping centers and a small increase in highway oriented
business.
There are thirty additional acres of land provided for in
the plan. This extra land is provided in order to compensate
for unpredictable occurrences such as a downtown automobile
dealer moving to the outskirts of town and utilizing a much
larger amount of land.
Based on present trends, most of this new development will
take place outside the present city limits. The revised plan
provides for continued expansion of the new commercial node which
is developing at the intersection of Halstead Boulevard and
Ehringhaus Street. Smaller nodes have been designated for the
intersection of the proposed Halstead Street Extension and U.S.
Highway 17 near the hospital, and the intersection of Halstead
Boulevard and Edgewood Drive on the south side of the city. These
proposed nodes and expansions of existing development will pro-vide
commercial shopping centers to accommodate anticipated new
residential growth. In addition, they are tied to the proposed
inner loop arterial system and should therefore be more accessi-ble
to outlying suburban development than cluttered strip com-mercial
development on Hughes Boulevard or Ehringhaus Street.
Industrial Land Development
It has been pointed out in this report that no new indus-trial
development has taken place within the corporate limits of
26
Elizabeth City in the past ten years. During this period, one
plant has been located outside the city within the planning area.
Most of the land within the city that has been set aside for
industrial development is not competitive with what most cities
have to offer. Much of the land set aside is low lying and poor-ly
drained, and most of it has unattractive surroundings . There
are no vacant tracts within the city limits other than those
zoned for industrial use that are suitable for such development,,
However, within the planning area are several tracts which are
well drained, attractive in appearance and surroundings, and
served by a railroad and an adequate arterial highway,, Three
new sites on Halstead Boulevard are proposed for new industrial
development. Planned extensions of the city's water and sewer
system will permit these services to be extended to the Halstead
Boulevard area in the near future. It is proposed that much of
the area lying along Hughes Boulevard be left in industrial or
wholesaling zones. However, the tract of city owned land bor-dered
by Knobbs Creek could be well utilized as a public recre-ation
area. Parts of this site need filling which could be
accomplished by shifting the sanitary land fill as the other
sites fill up. The rest of the industrially zoned land could
be used for lumber mill expansion, oil bulk plants, coal yards,
building materials fabrication, and wholesaling and storage
facilities.
What must be kept in mind is the fact that the typical
modern light industrial plant is not being located in the old,
run down parts of town, but is being built on well drained
prime developable land. In order to have a reasonable chance in
attracting new manufacturing industries, a city must have such
land available at a reasonable price, and it usually must be
served by water, sewer, electricity, and a railway and highways
It is not practical to base future land use needs complete-ly
upon the expected increase in population because a small
plant can employ a large number of employees and a large plant
27
can employ a small number. However, the tendency of new indus-trial
plants is to buy large sites in order to have adequate
space for such things as landscaping and parking,, Also in order
for Elizabeth City to support the projected increase in popula-tion,
the city must increase job opportunities by at least thirty
percent. Because of the necessity for more jobs and the desire
for larger sites, industrial land use will double during the
planning period. However, much more land is provided in the
Land Development Plan because multiple sites must be offered to
the prospective industries.
Public and Semi-Public
By 1987, Elizabeth City will need more than double the pres-ent
acreage of public and semi-public land if it is to raise
itself to national standards for recreation areas and facilities.
The general lack of these facilities is the greatest shortcoming
the city faces today in trying to provide an adequate range of
public services and facilities for its people. The lack of these
facilities has been a detriment to the city in its past. Just
as a lack of suitable industrial sites has deterred industrial
growth in the past, so will a continuing lack of adequate recre-ation
facilities cripple the city f s future growth and develop-ment
.
If the city provides the needed land for recreation by
1987, about 300 acres will be needed. ^ The major proposed
facility will be a large park of about 200 acres that should be
available for use by city and county residents. This facility
should be located adjacent to the new consolidated city-county
school off U.S. Highway 17 just west of the city. The football
stadium, parking areas, and certain multiple use areas could be
located on the city owned facility adjacent to the school, How-ever,
a separate community center building should be built on
The standard of the National Recreation Association is 10
to 15 acres per 1000 people.
28,
the city park and building space should not be shared with the
school.
Another major park would be located on Knobbs Creek at the
intersection of Hughes Boulevard and North Road Street. Most of
this proposed location is already owned by the city„ Additional
lands could be acquired and the low spots in the area could be
filled to provide a park and picnic facility of 50 to 100 acres,
This park would border Knobbs Creek and would provide access to
the Pasquotank River. A third proposed new recreation facility
would be located just west of the hospital on the north side of
Highway 17. This park would contain 25 to 50 acres and would
provide direct water access to the Pasquotank River since it
would border the river.
Additional recreation areas proposed in the 1959 Land Devel-opment
Plan are shown on Page 25. A more detailed plan for recre-ation
is contained in the Revision of the Community Facilities
Plan. Other lands needed for public and semi-public land use
such as churches, city buildings, and medical facilities are
difficult to project and show on a small scale map. Thus, only
the major uses in this category are shown on the 1987 Development
P lan.
Residential Land Use
It is anticipated that over 300 acres of land will be used
for new residential development in Elizabeth City during the
next twenty years. This projection is based upon the theory
that residential land use will increase in direct proportion to
the increase in population. Approximately 500 acres of addi-tional
recreational land is provided in the plan. Not all of
this land is expected to develop, but if development occurs, it
should be residential.
Based on present trends, the major direction of new growth
will be to the south of the city, with further development of
a smaller scale to the west and north. The 1987 Development
29
Plan indicates additional areas other than those shown on the
1959 Plan that are expected to undergo residential development.
The new consolidated high school will tend to reinforce the
developmental attraction of the new shopping core developing at
the intersection of Halstead Boulevard and Ehringhaus Street.
Utilities Development
Compared to the other types of land use discussed above,
utilities will take a small amount of additional land by 1987,
only about 20 acres. This land will be scattered in small
tracts throughout the planning area.
Street Development
The projected outward extension of the growth and develop-ment
of Elizabeth City will require a number of additional resi-dential
streets and several new arterials and connecting links.
It is anticipated that about 200 additional acres of land will
be used for street development in the next twenty years. Most
of this new development will occur outside the existing city
limits but within the planning area. The major proposed improve-ments
are described in the Elizabeth City Thoroughfare Plan pre-pared
for the city by the N. C, Highway Commission in August
1965. This plan has been incorporated in the 1987 Development
Plan.
Vacant, Agricultural, and Wooded Land
The vacant, agricultural, and wooded land in the Elizabeth
City Planning Area is expected to decline by over 1,000 acres
in the next twenty years. As the pressure for new land increases,
the expense for land is likely to rise. A wise public policy of
acquiring lands for public use in accordance with a plan and
well in advance of their actual development can save the tax-payers
a great amount of money. The city should gear its capi-tal
improvements budget so that such advance acquisitions can be
made .
30
RECOMMENDATIONS
& IMPLEMENTATION
RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
The plan contained in this report is a generalized blueprint
for the future growth and development of the Elizabeth City Plan-ning
Area. The city has made great strides in the past nine years
in improving its housing conditions with the adoption and enforce-ment
of uniform building codes and housing codes. In addition, a
new zoning ordinance and subdivision regulations were adopted in
1961. Many improvements in public facilities have been made since
1959. The most notable is the sewerage treatment plant now under-going
construction. The urban renewal program is revitalizing
some of the older, worn-out parts of the city and at the same
time adding needed public facilities,, However, there are many
problems to solve. The following recommendations, some of them
first proposed in the 1961 Development Plan Report, are made to
accompany the Development Plan. They are concerned with the plan-ning,
administration, and development of the city
1. It is recommended that a comprehensive study be made of
the feasibility of annexing the areas outside the city
limits that are receiving "spillover" development,, The
divergent directions of growth will make it difficult
to take in all areas at once because of the expense in-volved
in providing municipal services, However, it
is important that the city adopt a policy of annexation
before problems of providing municipal services becomes
so great and expensive that annexation becomes economi-cally
unfeasible.
2. It is recommended that the city create a Municipal Rec-reation
Department and hire an administrative director
and staff directly responsible to the City Manager. The
newly appointed Recreation Advisory Committee should work
with the director in helping him to prepare a comprehen-sive
recreation program for Elizabeth City„ In time,
the new committee should be designated The Recreation
Commission and it should work to provide citizen support
for the program and to advise the director and staff of
the city's needs.
31
3. The city should take immediate steps to implement the
recreation plan contained in the Revised Community Facil-ities
Plan. The greatest need at the present time is
to acquire the needed land for the development of recre-ation
areas and facilities*,
4. It is recommended that the city increase its efforts to
implement the Central Business District Plan adopted in
1965. The competition from commercial areas on the
perimeter of the city is making serious inroads on the
economic viability of the downtown area.
5. It is recommended that the merchants in the Central Busi-ness
District take immediate steps to provide additional
off-street parking in the central area to match the
efforts made by the city.
6. The existing zoning ordinance needs revisions to bring
it up to date. The policy of using amendments to the
zoning ordinance to shape the future pattern of develop-ment
should be revised. The ordinance should reflect
realistically the desirable future pattern of develop-ment,
namely the Revised Land Development Plan.
IMPLEMENTATION
Among the programs available to aid the city in planning,
acquiring, and developing additional public facilities are the
f o 1 lowi ng
,
Land and Water Conservation Fund Program
Under the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965,
states and their political subdivisions are eligible for grants
for planning, acquiring land and developing outdoor recreation
areas and facilities. Governmental units who wish to apply must
present to a liaison office the project to be administered. This
program is being administered at the State level by the State
Planning Task Force, North Carolina Department of Administration.
Neighborhood Facilities Program
Under the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1956, local
public bodies are eligible for grants to assist in financing spe-cific
projects for neighborhood facilities such as youth centers,
32
health stations, and other public facilities that provide social
and related services to ne ighborhoods „ Grants may be three-fourths
of the cost of new construction, acquisition or r ehab i 1 i t a t io
n
For information contact the Urban Renewal Administration,
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D C
Advance Acquisition of Land
This program encourages and assists local public bodies or
agencies to acquire, in a planned and orderly fashion, land and
interests in land to be utilized in connection with future con-struction
of public works and facilities. Grants are authorized
not in excess of the aggregate amount of reasonable interest
charges on funds borrowed locally to finance the acquisition of
land for a period of five years from the date the loan is made
or such financial obligation is incurred, until an earlier date
when construction begins on the public improvement for which the
land was acquired.
For information contacts Community Facilities Administration,
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 645 Peachtree -
7th Building, NE , Atlanta, Georgia 30323o
Advances fo r Public Works Planning
This program provides interest-free advances to States,
their political subdivisions, and public agencies to assist them
in planning essential public works and community facilities
(except public housing) to be constructed within a reasonable
period.
The planning advances are repaid to the Federal government
when construction begins.
For information contact; Community Facilities Administration
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 645 Peachtree-
7th Building, NE , Atlanta, Georgia 30323.
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